By Paul Gellatly
While modern-day policing is no longer about feet on the beat or the constant presence of patrol cars, there are still ways to enhance the effectiveness of the thin blue line, a senior Bowen police officer says.
Sergeant Craig Shepherd told Bowen Chamber of Commerce's October meeting that while there was community angst about the perception of out-of-control crime in the regional town, he said the good news was that "we are ahead of other centres", with the bulk of their work being in rural offences and "general hooning around town".
While modern-day policing was down to the number of police officers and resources available on the day, it was still possible to achieve acceptable responses to most non-urgent complaints by using the online Policelink service and he recommended its use so police could prioritise their workdays.
With a police area that extends to Gumlu in the north, Collinsville in the west and Proserpine in the south, it was no longer possible to call for an immediate police response to the majority of non-urgent calls.
Sgt Shepherd said while the police role had changed in the digital era, he warned that social media had blown some aspects of crime perception out of all proportion. He advised people to "just come and ask us" if they had any uncertainty about this.
He said there needed to be an understanding that there had been changes in policy, procedures and the law in general that affected policing. For instance, he said police no longer arrested people for public drunkenness unless they were committing offences while drunk.
Sgt Shepherd said there also needed to be an understanding that around urban centres such as Bowen, a large proportion of offending was done behind closed doors with domestic violence.
The perception of youth crime and attacks was also challenged by police data that showed a majority of offences was committed by people over the age of 40 (a recent ABC news report stated that Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed the Queensland youth crime rate had halved during the past 14 years).
Even Bowen's licensed premises were relatively safe places, Sgt Shepherd said, because "we tend to get an eclectic mix of people at pubs".
"People are fearful of going out when in fact the danger is at home," he said.
There were also evidence rules that needed to be considered by people making complaints to police and while some people were not prepared to substantiate their complaints, which was "understandable" in regional centres where everybody knew each other, "policing is a partnership with the community".
"We need the people who have had offences committed against them to work with us," Sgt Shepherd said. "I can't just arrest somebody without the evidence."
Sgt Shepherd assured the meeting that police were dedicated to the rule of law in Bowen.
"We (police) want to see everyone safe in Bowen, because we all live here," he said.
Chamber chairman Bruce Hedditch with (left) NQBP's Tim Lewis, and Bowen Police's Sgt Craig Shepherd. Photo credit: Paul Gellatly